Last state adopts military kids education compact

Aug. 19, 2014 - 10:18AM
|

New York has become the last state to adopt the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children, an agreement that aims to smooth out administrative issues involved in moving from one school district to another.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the legislation into law Monday, making New York the 50th state to adopt the compact.

The agreement is designed to bring consistency to policies on enrollment, placement, attendance, eligibility, graduation, extracurricular activities and more. However, the results are not immediate; a number of states that have adopted the compact are still in various stages of implementing it.

Forming a state council and informing local principals, counselors and teachers are the first steps. The compact provides for a structure at the state and national levels for enforcement and compliance.

The Defense Departmentís state liaison office and military advocacy organizations have worked for years to provide information to states on the impact of permanent change-of-station transitions on military children, and on what the compact can mean for their education.